List of the named Buddhas

"The Seven Buddhas", at Sanchi (1st century BCE/CE). Six Buddhas of the past are represented, together with the current Buddha, Gautama Buddha, with his Bodhi Tree (at the extreme right). In the central section are three stupas alternating with four trees with thrones in front of them, adored by figures both human and divine. These represent six Buddhas of the past (namely: Vipassī Buddha, Sikhī Buddha, Vessabhū Buddha, Kakusandha Buddha, Koṇāgamana Buddha and Kassapa Buddha) with the current Buddha, Gautama Buddha. Three are symbolized by their stupas, and four by the trees under which each respectively attained enlightenment. The tree on the extreme right is the pipal tree of Gautama Buddha and the one next to it is the banyan tree of Kassapa Buddha. The identification of the others is less certain.[1]
Buddhist men at the Sule Pagoda in Yangon, Myanmar, paying homage to the 28 Buddhas described in Chapter 27 of the Buddhavamsa
Sumedha, the youth who would after many reincarnations become Gautama Buddha, receiving his niyatha vivarana (prediction of future Buddhahood) from Dīpankara Buddha

In countries where Theravāda Buddhism is practiced by the majority of people, such as Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Laos, Burma, Thailand, it is customary for Buddhists to hold elaborate festivals, especially during the fair weather season, paying homage to the 28 Buddhas described in the Buddhavamsa. The Buddhavamsa is a text which describes the life of Gautama Buddha and the 27 Buddhas who preceded him.[2] The Buddhavamsa is part of the Khuddaka Nikāya, which in turn is part of the Sutta Piṭaka. The Sutta Piṭaka is one of three main sections of the Pāli Canon of Theravāda Buddhism.

The first three of these Buddhas—Taṇhaṅkara, Medhaṅkara, and Saraṇaṅkara—lived before the time of Dīpankara Buddha. The fourth Buddha, Dīpankara, is especially important, as he was the Buddha who gave niyatha vivarana (prediction of future Buddhahood) to the Brahmin youth who would in the distant future become the bodhisattva Gautama Buddha.[3] After Dīpankara, 23 more noble people (ariya-puggala) would attain enlightenment before Gautama, the historical Buddha.

Many Buddhists also pay homage to the future (and 29th) Buddha, Maitreya. According to Buddhist scripture, Maitreya will be a successor of Gautama who will appear on Earth, achieve complete enlightenment, and teach the pure Dharma. The prophecy of the arrival of Maitreya is found in the canonical literature of all Buddhist sects (Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana), and is accepted by most Buddhists as a statement about an event that will take place when the Dharma will have been forgotten on Jambudvipa (the terrestrial realm, where ordinary human beings live).

Maitreya Buddha from the 2nd century Gandharan Art Period

The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity

According to Theravada Buddhist tradition, each kalpa has 1,000 Buddhas.[4] The previous kalpa was the vyuhakalpa (Glorious aeon), and the present kalpa is called the bhadrakalpa (Auspicious aeon).[5] The Seven Buddhas of Antiquity (Saptatathāgata) are seven Buddhas which bridge the vyuhakalpa and the bhadrakalpa:[6]

  1. Vipassī (the 998th Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
  2. Sikhī (the 999th Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
  3. Vessabhū (the 1000th and final Buddha of the vyuhakalpa)
  4. Kakusandha (the first Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
  5. Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
  6. Kassapa (the third Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)
  7. Gautama (the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)

Following the Seven Buddhas of Antiquity will be Maitreya, the fifth and future Buddha of the bhadrakalpa.

Historical mentions of previous Buddhas

Koṇāgamana (the second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)

The Koṇāgamana Buddha, second Buddha of the bhadrakalpa, is mentioned in a 3rd century BCE inscription by Ashoka at Nigali Sagar, in today's Nepal. There is an Ashoka pillar at the site today. Ashoka's inscription in the Brahmi script is on the fragment of the pillar still partly buried in the ground. The inscription made when Emperor Asoka at Nigali Sagar in 249 BCE records his visit, the enlargement of a stupa dedicated to the Kanakamuni Buddha, and the erection of a pillar:

"Devanam piyena piyadasin lajina- chodasavasa bhisitena Budhasa Konakamanasa thube-dutyam vadhite Visativa sabhisitena –cha atana-agacha-mahiyite silathabe-cha usa papite"

“His Majesty King Priyadarsin in the 14th year of his reign enlarged for the second time the stupa of the Buddha Kanakamuni and in the 20th year of his reign, having come in person, paid reverence and set up a stone pillar”.[7][8]

"Budha-sa Konākamana-sa" ("Of the Kanakamuni Buddha") inscription in the Brahmi Script, at Nigali Sagar, 250 BCE

According to Xuanzang, Koṇāgamana's relics were held in a stupa in Nigali Sagar, in what is now Kapilvastu District in southern Nepal.[9]

Gautama Buddha (Sakyamuni, the fourth and present Buddha of the bhadrakalpa)

The historical Buddha, Gautama, also called Sakyamuni ("Sage of the Shakyas), is mentionned epigraphically on the Pillar of Ashoka at Rummindei (Lumbini in modern Nepal). The Brahmi script inscription on the pillar gives evidence that Ashoka, emperor of the Maurya Empire, visited the place in 3rd-century BCE and identified it as the birth-place of the Buddha.[10][note 1]

The words "Bu-dha" and "Sa-kya-mu-nī " in Brahmi script, on the Rummindei pillar of Ashoka.

When King Devandmpriya Priyadarsin had been anointed twenty years, he came himself and worshipped (this spot) because the Buddha Shakyamuni was born here. (He) both caused to be made a stone bearing a horse (?) and caused a stone pillar to be set up, (in order to show) that the Blessed One was born here. (He) made the village of Lummini free of taxes, and paying (only) an eighth share (of the produce).

— The Rummindei Edict, one of the Minor Pillar Edicts of Ashoka.[13]

The 29 named Buddhas

Pāli name[14][15][16] Caste[15][16] Birthplace[15][16] Parents[15][16] Bodhirukka (tree of enlightenment)[15][16][17] Incarnation of Gautama[16]
1 Taṇhaṅkara Kshatriya King Sunandha, and Queen Sunandhaa Rukkaththana
2 Medhaṅkara Sudheva, and Yasodhara Kaela
3 Saraṇaṅkara Sumangala, and Yasawathi Pulila
4 Dīpankara Brahmin Rammawatinagara Sudheva, and Sumedhaya Pipphala Sumedha (also Sumati or Megha Mānava, a rich Brahman)[18]
5 Koṇḍañña Kshatriya Rammawatinagara Sunanda, and Sujata Salakalyana Vijitawi (a Chakravarti in Chandawatinagara of Majjhimadesa)
6 Maṅgala Brahmin[19] Uttaranagara (Majhimmadesa) Uttara, and Uttara a naga Suruchi (in Siribrahmano)
7 Sumana Kshatriya[19] Mekhalanagara Sudassana and Sirima a naga King Atulo, a Naga
8 Revata[20] Brahmin[19] Sudhannawatinagara Vipala and Vipula a naga A Veda-versed Brahman
9 Sobhita Kshatriya[19] Sudhammanagara Sudhammanagara (father) and Sudhammanagara (mother) a naga Sujata, a Brahman (in Rammavati)
10 Anomadassi Brahmin[19] Chandawatinagara Yasava and Yasodara ajjuna A Yaksha king
11 Paduma[21] Kshatriya[19] Champayanagara Asama, and Asama salala A lion
12 Nārada Dhammawatinagara King Sudheva and Anopama sonaka a tapaso in Himalayas
13 Padumuttara[22] Kshatriya Hansawatinagara Anurula, and Sujata salala Jatilo an ascetic
14 Sumedha Kshatriya Sudasananagara Sumedha (father), and Sumedha (mother) nipa Native of Uttaro
15 Sujāta Sumangalanagara Uggata, and Pabbavati welu a chakravarti
16 Piyadassi[23] Sudannanagara Sudata, and Subaddha kakudha Kassapa, a Brahmin (at Siriwattanagara)
17 Atthadassi Kshatriya Sonanagara Sagara and Sudassana champa Susino, a Brahman
18 Dhammadassī Kshatriya Surananagara Suranamaha, and Sunanada bimbajala Indra, the leader of the gods (devas)
19 Siddharttha Vibharanagara Udeni, and Suphasa kanihani Mangal, a Brahman
20 Tissa Khemanagara Janasando, and Paduma assana King Sujata of Yasawatinagara
21 Phussa[24] Kshatriya Kāśi Jayasena, and Siremaya amalaka Vijitavi
22 Vipassī Kshatriya Bandhuvatinagara Vipassi (father), and Vipassi (mother) patali King Atula
23 Sikhī Kshatriya Arunavattinagara Arunavatti, and Paphavatti pundariko Arindamo (at Paribhuttanagara)
24 Vessabhū Kshatriya Anupamanagara Suppalittha, and Yashavati sala Sadassana (in Sarabhavatinagara)
25 Kakusandha Brahmin Khemavatinagara Agidatta the purohitta Brahman of King Khema, and Visakha airisa King Khema[25]
26 Koṇāgamana Brahmin[26] Sobhavatinagara Yannadatta the Brahman, and Uttara udumbara King Pabbata of a mountainous area in Mithila
27 Kassapa[27] Brahmin Baranasinagara Brahmadatta a Brahman, and Dhanavati nigroda Jotipala (at Vappulla)
28 Gautama (current) Kshatriya Lumbini King Suddhodana, and Maya Asatu Bodhi Gautama, the Buddha
29 Maitreya Brahmin[28] Ketumatī[29] Kākavannatissa and Vihāramahādevī[29] Naga Bodhi

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Several alternative translations have been published.[11][12]

Footnotes

  1. ↑ John Marshall, A Guide to Sanchi, 1918 p.46ff (Public Domain text)
  2. ↑ Morris, R, ed. (1882). "XXVII: List of the Buddhas". The Buddhavamsa. London: Pali Text Society. pp. 66–7.
  3. ↑ "Life of the Buddha: Dīpankara's Prediction of Enlightenment". The Huntington Archive - The Ohio State University. Retrieved 2012-09-06.
  4. ↑ "Chapter 36: The Buddhas in the three periods of time". Buddhism in a Nutshell Archives. Hong Kong: Buddhistdoor International. Retrieved 2014-12-21.
  5. ↑ Buswell (2014), Bhadrakalpa, p. 106
  6. ↑ Buswell (2014), Saptatathāgata, p. 776
  7. ↑ Basanta Bidari - 2004 Kapilavastu: the world of Siddhartha - Page 87
  8. ↑ Inscriptions of Asoka. New Edition by E. Hultzsch (in Sanskrit). 1925. p. 165.
  9. ↑ John S. Strong (2007). Relics of the Buddha. p. 130.
  10. ↑ Paranavitana, S. (Apr. - Jun., 1962). Rummindei Pillar Inscription of Asoka, Journal of the American Oriental Society, 82 (2), 163-167
  11. ↑ Weise, Kai; et al. (2013), The Sacred Garden of Lumbini – Perceptions of Buddha's Birthplace (PDF), Paris: UNESCO, pp. 47–48, archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-08-30
  12. ↑ Hultzsch, E. /1925). Inscriptions of Asoka. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 164-165
  13. ↑ Hultzsch, E. (1925). Inscriptions of Asoka. Oxford: Clarendon Press, pp. 164-165
  14. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Buddha, pp. 294-305
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 Davids, TWR; Davids, R (1878). "The successive bodhisats in the times of the previous Buddhas". Buddhist birth-stories; Jataka tales. The commentarial introduction entitled Nidana-Katha; the story of the lineage. London: George Routledge & Sons. pp. 115–44.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Horner, IB, ed. (1975). The minor anthologies of the Pali canon. Volume III: Buddhavaṁsa (Chronicle of Buddhas) and Cariyāpiṭaka (Basket of Conduct). London: Pali Text Society. ISBN 0-86013-072-X.
  17. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Bodhirukka, p. 319
  18. ↑ Ghosh, B (1987). "Buddha Dīpankara: twentyfourth predecessor of Gautama" (PDF). Bulletin of Tibetology. 11 (new series) (2): 33–8. ISSN 0525-1516.
  19. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Beal (1875), Beal S, Chapter III: Exciting to religious sentiment, pp. 10-17
  20. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Revata, pp. 754-5
  21. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Paduma, p. 131
  22. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Padumuttara, pp. 136-7
  23. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Piyadassi, p. 207
  24. ↑ Malalasekera (2007), Phussa, p. 257
  25. ↑ Prophecies of Kakusandha Buddha, Konagamana Buddha and Kassapa Buddha Archived 2011-07-13 at the Wayback Machine.
  26. ↑ Barua, A (2008). Dīgha-Nikāya: romanize Pāli text with English translation. 2 (1st ed.). Delhi, India: New Bharatiya Book Corporation. p. 6. ISBN 81-8315-096-9.
  27. ↑ Cunningham, A (1880). "XVIII: Tandwa". Report of Tours in the Gangetic Provinces from Badaon to Bihar, in 1875-76 and 1877-78. Calcutta, India: Office of the Superintendent of Government Printing. pp. 70–8.
  28. ↑ http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/dn/dn.26.0.than.html
  29. 1 2 Vipassana.info, Pali Proper Names Dictionary: Metteyya

References

  • Beal, S (1875). The romantic legend of Sâkya Buddha: from the Chinese-Sanscrit. London: Trubner & Company, Ludgate Hill.
  • Malalasekera, GP (2007). Dictionary of Pāli proper names. Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited. ISBN 978-81-208-3020-2.
  • Buswell Jr., RE; Lopez Jr., DS (2014). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (1st ed.). Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. pp. 106, 776. ISBN 978-0-691-15786-3.

Further reading

  • Law, BC, ed. (1938). "The lineage of the Buddhas". The Minor Anthologies of the Pali Canon: Buddhavaṃsa, the lineage of the Buddhas, and Cariyā-Piṭaka or the collection of ways of conduct (1st ed.). London: Milford.
  • Takin, MV, ed. (1969). "The lineage of the Buddhas". The Genealogy of the Buddhas (1st ed.). Bombay: Bombay University Publications.
  • Vicittasarabivamsa, U (1992). "Chapter IX: The chronicle of twenty-four Buddhas". In Ko Lay, U; Tin Lwin, U. The great chronicle of Buddhas, Volume One, Part Two (PDF) (1st ed.). Yangon, Myanmar: Ti=Ni Publishing Center. pp. 130–321.
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